A Truly Memorable 2024 WBFSH General Assembly in Cascais (POR)

Breeding

WBFSH

-- Text by Eva Maria Broomer - Photos © WBFSF

This year’s WBFSH General Assembly was a very special occasion for many reasons. Jointly hosted by the Portuguese WBFSH Member Studbooks, the Lusitano Studbook, the Portuguese Sport Horse and the Luso-Warmblood Studbook, the meeting included memorable cultural highlights such as a wonderful classical horsemanship demonstration by the Portuguese Equestrian Riding School, a glamorous Gala Dinner at the famous Queluz Palace and trips to Sintra and to Lisbon’s impressive Carriage Museum.

The assembly and seminar activities were centred at the famous seaside resort of Cascais at the Miragem Hotel. There was a strong emphasis on welfare with presentations and talks showcasing new research initiatives supported by the WBFSH and a thought provoking round table discussion.

The event marked the highlight of our 30 Years Anniversary Celebrations with a special gift to our Patron Princess Benedikte and to our President Jan Pedersen both of whom have served our organisation in their roles for 25 years this autumn.

The official opening of the event took place in the evening on 12th October at the Hotel Cascais Miragem. We enjoyed a drinks reception on their beautiful terrace overlooking the seafront. The weather was on our side, and we all enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new members of our global community. Princess Benedikte was able to attend the evening and we enjoyed words of welcome from our President and our hosts.

Emphasis on Welfare

Sunday morning’s seminars were opened by our President and by our host, represented by Jose Veiga Maltez, President of the APCRS, Joao Pedro Rodrigues of the Lusitano Studbook and Antonio Lino Leto of the Luso Warmblood. These WBFSH seminars are a highly valued part of every General Assembly enabling our members to engage with topical research and interact with leading academics and industry representatives from far and wide. This year we placed a strong emphasis on welfare. For some years now our organisation has taken a leading role in supporting and promoting equine welfare through seminars, discussions and webinars. In this we are careful to take a balanced and scientifically informed approach.

It is therefore only fitting that our WBFSH Welfare Statement is based on in depth and far reaching research supported by us and carried out by Prof Jane Williams and Janet Forbes from Hartpury University, UK. We started the day with a fascinating presentation of their work, which was very well received and led topically into a Round Table Discussion entitled “What are the challenges that we face in sport horse breeding with respect to Social License to operate, and what are the limitations of our actions in response to these challenges?” Introduced and moderated by Dr Eva-Maria Livesey, the discussion started with an engaging presentation from our keynote speaker, Roly Owers from World Horse Welfare. The panel further consisted of Jan Pedersen, Göran Åkerström from the FEI, Dr Heidi Kellokoski-Kiiskinen from FEEVA and Prof Jane Williams. The discussion, which centred on the importance of adopting proactive approaches to welfare and on personal and institutional responsibility, was highly engaging and many members of the audience took part with excellent questions and observations.

Research Based Analyses

The morning continued to offer much food for thought and showcased work at the forefront of science and technology. Dr Klaus Miesner presented the results of a WBFSH commissioned university study asking “Are the World Breeding Championships a predictor for future success in the sport?” Zoë Schelvis and Fleur Prinsen from AERES University of Applied Sciences in Dronten analysed data from horses that had participated in the finals of the FEI -WBFSH World Championships for Young Horses in Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing from 2012 to 2022. They found encouraging results with way over half of the horses achieving and maintaining subsequent international successes

The seminar sessions concluded with a fascinating talk by Tullis Matson from Stallion AI Services in the UK who explored “How modern technology can safeguard genetic diversity and biodiversity”. Tullis’s thought provoking presentation showcased the technological advances in cryopreservation and related technologies that can help to protect endangered species from extinction and will permit us to preserve valuable genetic material for the future. The presentation showed the vast developments in reproduction technologies in recent years and invited the audience to reflect on the need to use these responsibly and as a force for good.

Exploring Portuguese Equestrian Cultural Heritage

Sunday afternoon offered the opportunities to socialise and network while enjoying a fascinating trip to Lisbon’s Carriage Museum. Partly housed in a very impressive modern facility, and partly in the beautiful buildings originally created by the Portuguese monarchy, the collection his highly impressive and offered an enjoyable insight into bygone eras.

A short walk took us to the Portuguese Equestrian Riding School. Here, our hosts treated us to very interesting presentations about the history and development of the Lusitano Horse and Luso Warmblood followed by a talk on Portuguese equitation, which is very much seen as a form of art. This was followed by a skilful and impressive display of classical equitation including insights into the training of the Levade and Capriole in hand and under saddle. There was also a showcase of modern Portuguese sports horses in dressage, showjumping and eventing.

In the evening we returned to Cascais where we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of the Palácio da Cidadela whose terrace overlooks the picturesque harbour.

Equine Reproduction

Monday morning saw further seminars. Bérengère Lacroix presented the results of a survey carried out by her department on the practices of assisted reproductive techniques. Studbooks were encouraged to continue to contribute to developing a clearer understanding of the use of these techniques in view of gaining a better understanding of their impact on the industry and on equine health. In this context, Ralph van Venrooij put forward the suggestion that all studbooks should start registering the insemination techniques used as part of the equine passport. Everyone agreed that this was the right way forward.

Next, Maria João Fradinho introduced the work of EUnetHorse, which is a European project to improve resilience and performance of equine farms in Europe, focusing on socio-economic performance, health, welfare, and environmental sustainability. Her very well received presentation invited us all to think about our role in the wider equine industry.

This led well into our second guest speaker slot that morning, a fascinating talk by Dr Heidi Kellokoski-Kiiskenen from FEEVA who presented the perspective of the veterinarian in a talk entitled “How do we maintain the number of veterinarians that specialise in breeding in the future, and what strategy does the sector have for this?” This talk demonstrated the worrying trends in difficulties recruiting vets specialising in equine reproduction and gave insights into the challenges of the job. We were all left with a clearer understanding that better support of vets is crucial for the viability of our industry.

We then enjoyed a report about this year’s International Young Breeders World Championships by the organisation’s President Inge Madsen. It is a great pleasure to support the important work of the Young Breeders, which aims to provide opportunities for the next generations of breeders from all over the world. This year’s Championships took place at the famous ASK Stud in Denmark and again with 142 participants from 20 different studbooks. The next championships will take place in 2026 in Germany. All WBFSH members are encouraged to become involved.

Professor Kathrin Stock provided her annual insightful update from the EAAP (European Federation of Animal Science) Horse Commission. We highly value our strong ties with leading scientists, which help us to inform our approaches to breeding healthy, strong horses and with whom we can lay a solid foundation for the future. We are grateful to Kathrin’s support and ongoing commitment to supporting our work.

WBFSH General Assembly

The afternoon continued with the WBFSH General Assembly.

In the election of board members, retiring Vice-Presidents Norbert Camp from the German Trakehner Studbook and Renai Hart from the New Zealand Hanoverians were nominated for re-election. They were joined by a new nomination for Gustaf Johansson from the Swedish Warmbloods. All three candidates gave interesting presentations showing a strong commitment to the organisation and to supporting all members and breeders across the world. We congratulate Norbert and Renai on their re-election and thank Gustaf Johannson for coming forward.

We welcome several new members to our organisation whose applications had been examined by the secretariat, reviewed by the Executive Committee and approved by the board. These are: The Baltic Horse Breeders Association (BHBA), whose Full Membership was ratified. The Luso-Warmblood and Cheval de Dressage Francais who moved up from Associate Membership to Full Membership and AES Netherlands whose new application for Full Membership was approved. These applications are testimony to the continuing growth of our organisation worldwide and to the increasing interest by breeders and breed societies in benefiting from the support and participating in the aspirations of our Federation. Congratulations to all successful new members.

The British Hanoverian Horse Society (BHHS) introduced a motion that all WBFSH member studbooks should commit to full DNA testing for main studbook pedigree verification. This motion was supported by our membership with some members seeking further guidance on details and implementation.

The Marketing Department in conjunction with our digital partner, Equine Register, gave a presentation to explain the progress in developing the WBFSH Studbooks’ Data Project since its first announcement at last year’s General Assembly, A lot of work behind the scenes has gone into developing the unique proposition of the project, which has the ambitious aim of supporting all our members, as well as the wider industry. Test data has been submitted by a range of members, deliberately focusing on providing a broad mix, from larger established studbooks such as the Oldenburg Verband, KWPN and Danish Warmblood, to smaller breed societies such as the South African Warmblood Horse Society, and the New Zealand and British Hanoverians, to name only a few. This work is ongoing and members are encouraged to come forward in providing their input in the development.

We enjoyed a beautiful video presentation prepared by the South African Warmblood Horse Society who will host next year’s General Assembly. We are looking forward to what will be a fascinating and unique experience. All members are encouraged to book their flights early while flights are still cheaper.

We also celebrated this year’s leading WBFSH Studbooks in Eventing, Showjumping and Dressage. The Holsteiner Verband led in Eventing, the Selle Francais was again the strongest studbook in Showjumping, and KWPN continued their dominance in Dressage. Congratulations to all of them.

Gala Dinner

The evening provided a very special treat in form of a memorable Gala Dinner in the breathtaking surroundings of Queluz Palace. There was much to celebrate. Our organisation turned 30 this year, which was commemorated in a beautiful book created by our General Manager Nadine Brandtner and Morgane Libotte from our Secretariat. Every dinner guest was presented with their own copy. We enjoyed thought provoking speeches from our Patron Princess Benedikte and our President Jan Pedersen who reminded us of the importance of our continued work in overcoming divisions for the benefits of our breeders and above all of sports horses all over the world.

As a celebration and expression of our gratitude to the Princess whose Patronage has reached its 25th year, we were delighted to present her with a beautiful Bronze Horse Statue by the very talented Brigitte Boss. Brigitte’s statues are limited editions and unique in their beauty and in capturing the souls of their subjects. It was a particular delight to surprise our President with a speech by Klaus Miesner and a gift statue of his own, as he is also celebrating 25 years of leading our organisation. And speaking of surprises, Princess Benedikte gave a personal gift and thank you to our General Manager Nadine Brandtner for all her hard work and commitment. We all wholeheartedly join the Princess in this sentiment and thank Nadine for everything she has done and continues to do in going above and beyond for the WBFSH.

The Morning of our final day provided another special treat with a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sintra on the hills outside Lisbon where we enjoyed a guided tour of the National Palace, a fascinating building looking back over a history of a thousand years. The bus tour back to the hotel took us through the beautiful National Park of Sintra and Cascais with a stop at Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of the European mainland.

We would like to thank our generous hosts for all their hard work in creating such a memorable experience. We also thank our speakers for their interesting and thought provoking contribution and all our members who have made the journey to Portugal.

We look forward to seeing you all next year in South Africa!